Scorn ~ Preview

Scorn is an atmospheric first person horror adventure game set in a nightmarish universe of odd forms and somber tapestry.
It is designed around an idea of “being thrown into the world”. Isolated and lost inside this dream-like world you will explore different interconnected regions in a non-linear fashion. The unsettling environment is a character itself.
Every location contains its own theme (story), puzzles and characters that are integral in creating a cohesive lived in world. Throughout the game you will open up new areas, acquire different skill sets, weapons, various items and try to comprehend the sights presented to you.

We all have a few things in this world that make us uncontrollably excited; those few personal passions that you really can’t explain to others or find the right words to piece together the description of the complex emotions they evoke. They make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, they make your heartbeat quicken ever so slightly, they raise that body temperature just that little bit, perhaps even send a little shiver down your spine. My twisted titillations would have to include the likes of Barker’s Hellraiser and its pleasures of the flesh, lovecraftian horror and the almighty Old Ones, and Ridley Scott’s Alien/Aliens. To truly know Alien, one needs to know the works of the late and great H.R. Giger. To know Giger is to know a twisted world of biomechanical matings, a dream of flesh and machine intertwined in raw and revealing verisimilitude. Giger himself claimed to remember his own birth, and his art itself reflects a sexualised (but not quite erotic) tour de force of flesh and form. His award winning Necronomicon is a testament to that fact. And then came Scorn.

With this recently released official trailer, Scorn managed to do what no other survival horror has ever come close to doing; It let me walk through the dreams of a madman. It’s a fantasy world born of the imaginings of Giger, Beksiński, Zawadski, and perhaps a bit of the multi-talented Adam Jones. It is a cautiously and carefully crafted masterwork that is pretty obviously aimed at a very specific market; people like me. Even before the official trailer, the pre-alpha footage already had me in love with a game I knew so little about. I wanted in. I wanted to explore every orifice and eyeball, immerse myself within the convulsing corridors and traverse the strangely symmetrical structures and pathways. I wanted to experience Scorn.

The game is set to be released in two parts, with the creators pretty adamant that there will be nothing thereafter; no sequels, DLCs or remakes. Dasein (Part 1) will thankfully be available as early as 2017, with no word yet on the arrival of the sequel. The game style also sounds very intriguing, with the creators stating:

It is designed around an idea of “being thrown into the world”. Isolated and lost inside this dream-like world you will explore different interconnected regions in a non-linear fashion. The unsettling environment is a character itself. Every location contains its own theme (story), puzzles and characters that are integral in creating a cohesive lived in world. Throughout the game you will open up new areas, acquire different skill sets, weapons, various items and try to comprehend the sights presented to you.

What really sets this apart from the other titles in the genre is the dept of atmosphere and surrealism compared to what is usually just copious gore and jump scares. The weird living weapon with interchangeable organics is also a nice touch. I have a lot more questions than I do answers but after all that I have seen, I am left hungry and most definitely wanting more. For now though, take a browse through some of awesome screenshots and concept art.